Jesus married Mary Magdalene.

They had a child.

And everything you knew about Christianity is wrong — at least according to "The Da Vinci Code," author Dan Brown's best-selling novel and now one of the most anticipated movies of the summer.

The film opens in theaters today, but not without controversy. Many Catholics around the world have objected to the contents of the novel because of its suggestion about Jesus and his relationship with Mary Magdalene, which refutes Jesus' divinity.

The controversy has intensified with the release of the film — starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard — and many Catholics urge a boycott of the film.

The Rev. Mark Inglot of St. John Student Parish said he's been fielding questions about the novel and is surprised at the amount of controversy it's produced.

"It's surprising how many gullible people there are," he said. "They come and ask me if it's true. Even Dan Brown and Ron Howard say it's not history. It's a spy thriller."

He added he's not concerned about the religious questions raised by the film.

"I think that we realize here's an idea of a conspiracy theory," Inglot said. "The characters are fiction. It's not theology. It's not history. We're not taking any of that seriously."

In a written statement on Brown's Web site, www.danbrown.com, the author said there are real elements to the novel, but it is still a work of fiction.

"'The Da Vinci Code' is a novel and, therefore, a work of fiction. While the book's characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist," Brown wrote.

Susan Bandes, director of Kresge Art Museum, said the intrigue of Leonardo Da Vinci —?brought to the forefront through the novel — has a lot to do with the artist's mysterious nature.

"He was into so many different things — architecture and hydraulics and painting," she said. "There's always been a kind of mystery around his work because everything he did seemed to be different than what he did previously, a kind of experiment."

Jeff Etue, assistant store manager at Barnes & Noble, 333 E. Grand River Ave., said the book has increased in popularity because of the film and the March release of the book in paperback. Guides and other books relating to Brown are also popular, he said.

"I have a whole table in front with books that are fiction and nonfiction telling a tale about 'The Da Vinci Code,' or any other Dan Brown book," Etue said.

Joe Reynolds, the director of adult religious education at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish, 955 Alton Road, has only read critiques of the novel and not the novel itself. He said he believes the movie should be boycotted, but not banned.

"Any film or book that uses lies about significant historical events or persons should not be financially rewarded," Reynolds said.

He also said that the book is an attack on the church.

"If the film is true to the book, it will continue the agenda of some members of the media establishment, which (is) to cast the church, and its convictions about God's revelation, as unworthy of belief and an obstacle to supposed social progress," Reynolds said.

Chris Frilingos, an MSU assistant professor in the department of religious studies, who teaches classes about Christian history, said the story suggests Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and lineage from that relationship lives on today.

"There were many different kinds of Christianity available in the ancient world, and some of them made partial claims about a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene," he said. "One text seems to be suggestive, but very, very fragmentary — the Gospel of Philip. So scholars can't say what's going on there."

The Rev. Maurice Hayes at Lansing's Holy Cross, 1611 W. Oakland Ave., has also only read critiques about the novel. He said the book is not helpful for people who are on the fence about believing in the divinity of Jesus.

"There are people who are not strong enough in their faith, and creating doubts in what the Apostles proclaimed just makes them doubt a little bit more, which the people who are putting on the movie want," Hayes said.

He said he is not sure if he will see the movie, but added the film shouldn't be banned because it's strictly entertainment.

"I would like to see it for the entertainment," Hayes said. "But I don't know if I should let them make money at the expense of the truth."